Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

Chu Zhou said calmly, "Thank you for the compliment."

The strange rock fell completely silent.

It realized that if it talked to this lotus demon, it would eventually get so angry that it would cause problems.

However, after a moment of silence, the strange stone coldly reminded, "Lotus Demon, don't just think about devouring the leaked pollution. That piece of Buddha bone itself is not scary. The real trouble is what's behind the pollution of the Buddha bone."

Chu Zhou's seven lotus leaves swayed gently: "The Ghost Gate Crack?"

Strange Stone snorted: "Not too stupid. Even if there were ten thousand of you, you wouldn't be able to deal with that forbidden being behind the Ghost Gate Rift."

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhou chuckled. "So what if we can't deal with them? It's not like the world is going to end. Besides, if they're really that capable, why don't they come down here?"

Chu Zhou didn't care anymore. Last time, Guai Shi said that the so-called Ghost Gate Rift and the ancient temple in the dream were just a world existing in the rift space.

Simply put, it's a dungeon world.

Now they're bringing up the origin of the Ghost Gate Rift, and it's getting bigger and bigger. Won't the world be destroyed?

"Besides, I actually hope that He will invade the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone more often, so that I can continuously devour His essence."

Strange Stone paused for a moment: "You really aren't picky about food."

Chu Zhou said, "As long as I can become stronger, that's fine."

Strange Stone sneered, "You're a madman."

Chu Zhou smiled and ignored it.

Meanwhile, inside the main hall of Kudo Temple.

As the azure light devoured a large amount of gray pollution, Lin Qingxue's face suddenly turned pale, and the azure lotus mark between her brows instantly dimmed.

She swayed and almost fell to her knees.

Su Wan's expression changed, and she quickly supported her: "Qingxue!"

Lin Qingxue gritted her teeth and shook her head: "I'm fine. The special power within me is currently out of my control, and it will probably be very difficult to use it again."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuanling immediately realized what was happening.

He looked at the gradually dimming lotus mark between Lin Qingxue's brows and said with a complicated expression, "The Lord of the Lotus is really good at this. He can actually devour the polluted source through the lotus mark left in Qingxue's body."

Su Wan's heart skipped a beat.

Chen Wuji narrowed his eyes as well: "So, according to you, Brother Zhang, this Qingxue girl is actually more like a vessel?"

In modern society, since his spiritual energy was restored, Chen Wuji has also read many ancient books.

Naturally, one could also glean some meaning from Zhang Xuanling's words.

Zhang Xuanling nodded and said, "That's one way to understand it."

Lin Qingxue looked down at her palm, her feelings somewhat complicated. She had previously thought that the Azure Lotus Mark was her own power.

But now she understands that this power never belonged to her; she was merely someone whose mark was left by the Lord of the Azure Lotus.

In the center of Heilong Lake.

Chu Zhou sensed Lin Qingxue's state and his brows twitched slightly.

A system notification sounded.

"Ding, it has been detected that the Azure Lotus Seal recording body is forcibly bearing the source power, and the carrier's capacity is insufficient."

"Continued use may cause psychological damage to the carrier."

Chu Zhou sneered, "You think you can borrow my power? You really can't withstand it."

The next moment, with a thought, the lotus mark on Lin Qingxue's palm completely faded, and the lotus power that was still in her body was also directly withdrawn by Chu Zhou.

Lin Qingxue's body stiffened.

She could clearly feel that the connection between herself and that power had been severed by some higher-level will.

A sudden, inexplicable gloom settled over her.

The power of the Azure Lotus is indeed not something she can use at will.

The true master has always been the blue lotus in the center of Black Dragon Lake.

Inside the main hall.

The voice from behind the faceless Buddha statue sounded again.

This time, its voice seemed to carry a chilling undertone.

"The body of the lotus can also be used as incense."

As soon as she finished speaking, a wisp of gray energy suddenly bypassed everyone and went straight for Lin Qingxue's brow.

Su Wan's expression changed drastically: "Qingxue, be careful!"

Lin Qingxue wanted to activate the Azure Lotus Mark.

But this time, the Azure Lotus Mark did not react at all.

Her face turned pale.

Just as the gray mist was about to touch her brow, a chilling will suddenly descended from the direction of Black Dragon Lake.

"You dare touch my mark? Get out of my sight."

The next second, the lotus mark between Lin Qingxue's eyebrows burst forth with a dazzling blue light.

The wisp of gray aura seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, and was directly shaken out from in front of Lin Qingxue's brow.

The blue light and gray mist instantly dissipated.

A system notification sounded.

"Ding, purified the mark pollution, evolution points +50000."

In the underground ancient city, the strange stone couldn't help but say, "Lotus Demon, you even pluck the pollution from your own mark, you really don't waste anything."

Chu Zhou calmly replied, "Even a mosquito's leg is meat."

The strange rock was also exhausted. It finally understood that this blue lotus truly held a grudge.

Inside the main hall of Kudo Monastery.

Lin Qingxue's face turned pale, her emotions were complicated, and she knew very well what had just happened.

It wasn't that she herself blocked the pollution, but rather that the Lord of the Azure Lotus wouldn't allow anyone to touch His mark.

Zhang Xuanling looked at Lin Qingxue, his expression becoming increasingly complicated.

He now understands completely.

The blue lotus mark on Lin Qingxue's body was not a simple blessing.

It was more like a brand.

When the Lord of the Azure Lotus wants to use it, he can use her as an anchor point to remotely send down a portion of his power.

When she doesn't want to use it, she can't even summon a trace of the power of the Azure Lotus.

Su Wan also realized this.

She looked at Lin Qingxue and whispered, "Qingxue, step back first."

Lin Qingxue bit her lip, but finally nodded.

She didn't try to be brave.

Because she has realized that she has no right to act tough now.

That power did not belong to her; she was merely a pawn chosen by the Lord of the Azure Lotus.

Behind the faceless Buddha statue, that chilling voice rang out again.

"Lotus demon, you obstruct my incense offerings; you will surely be punished by Buddha."

In the center of Heilong Lake.

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhou immediately laughed: "Buddha's Punishment? You're practically rotten to the bone, and you still dare to punish me?"

In the ancient underground city, the strange rock sneered: "It is not a Buddha, but a polluted will that speaks through the Buddha's relics. It's useless to reason with it."

Chu Zhou said calmly, "I didn't intend to reason with it."

The strange stone was silent for a moment, then finally couldn't help but say, "Lotus Demon, you really have no sense of awe whatsoever."

Chu Zhou asked, "Can reverence make me evolve?"

The strange stone fell silent. It had finally realized that this lotus demon was not a normal demon at all.

When a normal demon encounters pollution from the Ghost Gate, its first reaction is to avoid it.

That guy is something else.

My first thought was whether it was edible, and if so, whether it would grant me any evolution points.

……

Inside the main hall of Kudo Temple, the figure behind the faceless Buddha statue remained silent for a moment.

The next second, the entire hall suddenly began to shake violently.

The sound of the wooden fish rang out again.

This time, the sound was no longer slow, but became increasingly urgent, as if someone was frantically banging on something deep inside the hall.

Gray incense ash churned like a tide in the cracks in the ground.

Behind the faceless Buddha statue, the voice, for the first time tinged with anger, hissed, "Outer demons, you steal my incense offerings, you deserve to die!"

boom!

The crack suddenly widened by an inch.

Countless gray incense ash shot into the sky, no longer coalescing into Buddha's hand, but transforming into gray chains that swept over the crowd.

Su Wan's expression changed drastically: "Be careful!"

With a flick of his peach wood sword, Zhang Xuanling sent out more than a dozen talismans flying out at the same time.

"Heaven and Earth are boundless, talismanic fire protects the body!"

The talisman burned, and golden light spread out in front of everyone.

But as soon as the gray chains touched the talisman light, the light began to shake violently.

A crack appeared in the talisman's light.

Zhang Xuanling's face paled: "The pollution from this leak is several times stronger than before!"

Without wasting words, Chen Wuji took a step forward, and his blood and qi erupted.

"Eight Extremes, Mountain Collapse!"

boom!

With a single punch, more than a dozen gray chains shattered on the spot, but even more chains surged forth from behind.

The entire Kudo Monastery seemed to have instantly transformed into a gray cage.

Chen Xueli stood guard in front of the stone Buddha, her face pale.

For the first time, she truly understood just how terrifying a real pollution outbreak could be.

Just when everyone's pressure was mounting.

In the center of Heilong Lake.

Chu Zhou finally smiled: "Have you been hiding for so long? Finally decided to come out?"